EU brushes off UN criticism of Libya policy

The European Commission says it is working to help and protect migrants in Libya amid sharp criticism from the United Nations. An EU commission spokesperson on Monday (11 September) told reporters in Brussels that its work with the UN and its affiliated agencies on the ground in Libya is part of a greater effort to protect migrants and provide them with access to basic medial care.

“We are working with the UN, extremely closely, with different agencies, precisely again to protect the migrants in Libya,” said Catherine Ray, who speaks on the behalf of the EU’s diplomatic arm, the European External Action Service (EEAS). She noted that the agencies are helping people to return to their home countries where they are aided with further assistance. The EU is also training the Libyan coastguard on human rights, she noted. The commission’s defence of the EU’s policy in Libya on Monday follows a scathing rebuke from the UN’s high commissioner for human rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein…